Non-sinkable vessel.



T. G. WEAVER..

NON-SINKABLE VESSEL.

APPLICATLON FILED MAY12. 1911.

1,%43,646a Patented 001;. 16, 1917.

Snow 1 501 T G. WEHVER TALBEBT GT WEAVER, OF LINCOLN, KANSAS.

noN-snvmrln VESSEL.

7 Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 16, 1917.

Application filed m 12, 1917. Serial no. 188,190.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, TAnnER'r G. WEAVER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lincoln, in the county of Washington and State of Arkansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Non-Sinkable Vessels,-of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the ac companying drawings.

This invention relates to ships, and more particularly to the hull construction there- The general object of the invention is to so construct the hull of a vessel that the vessel will be practically unsinkable and a further object is to so construct the hull of the vessel that torpedoes, mines and like engines of destruction can do but relatively small damage to. the vessel.

A further object is to so construct the hull of the vessel that it consists of conjoined cells or compartments of relatively large size, each cell or compartment being filled with compressed cotton, the cotton being... held under compression by intermediate steel plates and bolts.

Other objects will appear in the course of the following descri tion.

My invention is i ustrated in--the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a transverse sectional view of a vessel constructed in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view relatively enlarged of one of the compartments; Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view through one of the compartments and showing one of the side walls.

Referring to these drawings, it will be seen that 1 form the hull of the vessel with a lurality of compartments, each about ten eet square and ten feet deep. The outside wall 10 of the hull may be constructed of wood, steel plate, or of any other suitable material and constructed in any usual or suitable manner. Within this outer wall 10 is formed a plurality of compartments 11 and 11*. These compartments maybe of uniform size, of different sizes dependin upon the locality of the compartment an of course, the size will vary with the size of the vessel. Thus in Fig. 1, I have shown the sides of the vessel as being provided with compartments 11", which are 10 feet square and which extend upward from the bottom of the hull to a point above the water line and I have shown the bottom of the vessel as formed with a series of compartments 11, which are 10 feet squareand 10 feet ,deep. Preferably each of these compartments will be 10 feet square and where possible 10 feet deep more or less, except at the sides, where the compartments may run the full height of the vessel more or less. The walls of the compartments will be formed preferably of steel plates 12 securel riveted, bolted or otherwise attached to t e outer wall 10 and in each compartment there is to be disposed a pluralit of layers of compressed cotton designate 13 and a plurality of intermediate plates'14. For instance, in a compartment which is ten feet, deep, there will be first a layer of compressed cotton three feet, two inches in thickness, after the cotton has been compressed. Upon this layer of com- ,pressed ,cotton there is disposed a plate 14 whichwvill' be approximately :two inches thick, upon this steel plate there will be dis- .posed another layer of cotton about three feet, two inches in thickness and then another steel plate, until the compartment has been entirely filled with compressed cotton and steel plates. Thus, for instance, assuming that each compartment is ten feet deep, there will be three layers of cotton, each three feet, two inches thick and three steel plates, each two inches thick, thus making afilling 10 feet in depth. This mass of cotton with the intervening steel plates are held to the outer wall by threaded bolts 15 extendmg perpendicularly to the wall, and preferab y extending vertically. To each compartment there will preferably be six of these threaded bolts,- each six inches in diameter. Each steel plate 14 is to have openings for the passage of the bolts 15 and is to be held in lace by nuts 16. The final or last layer 0 cotton is to be held in place 'by a cap plate 17, which will be preferably ten feet, four inches square. The reason for making the cap plate larger than the lates 14 is to permit the edge of the stee cap, where it comes in contact with the wall of a ship or with a partition Wall 18, to fit into Kill age-apes a groove, say two inches in diameter, this groove being designated 19. lhe partitions 18 are to be sir. inches in thickness and ten feet high. Preferably the partitions 18, where they touch the hull, will be provided with flanges whereby the partitions may be riveted or bolted to the outer wall 10. Of course it will be understood that the cotton and the intervening plates 14 and partitions will conform to the curvature of the hull of the vessel and that while I have shown a vessel having a relatively flat bottom, it will be obvious that the construction is equally applicable to vessels having theiiqbottoms at a less angle to the sides.

It is to be understood that while I have referred-to the compartments 11 as being ten feet square and ten or more feet deep, these dimensions will be varied depending upon the size of the vessel, the principle of my invention residing in the formation of the hull of a vessel of cells, within which compressed cotton is disposed. Thus these cells or compartments need only, in some cases, be a foot or two feet square and deep. Neither do I wish tolimit myself to the particular means of construction illustrated in the drawings or the particular shape of the compartments or cells,nor the particular manner of holding the cotton under compression.

It will be understood that a vessel constructed in accordance with this invention will be practically unsinkable. Being constructed in compartments, the puncture or any damage done to one compartment will not aiiect the other compartments and, furthermore, the cotton being under compression willquickly swell so as to stop any liquid that may occur due to a puncture in the outer wall of the compartment. Again it will be obvious that a projectile, such as a torpedo, exploding against the side of the vessel will do relatively little damage. The projectile would have great difficulty in penetrating the mass of cotton and an eX- plosion within this mass would have very little efiect because of the cushioning action of the cotton and an explosion which would damage a portion of the outer wall of the hull, while it might carry away a portion of this outer wall and carry away a portion of the cotton immediately adjacent, would not allect, to any extent, the inner layers of cotton which would stillbe held in compression by the jaws in the bolts. The vessel would carry cotton compressed in bales or layers three feet, two inches thick, according to the size of the compartments. which could be readily placed in position, the nuts on the bolts 15 being turned so as to force what were the inner layers of cotton outward so as to permit the fresh layers to be put in place from the inside.

Having described my invention, what I claim is I l. A vessel having a hull formed with a plurality of compartments, bolts extending through the compartments to the open ends thereof, layers of compressed fibrous material disposed within the compartments, metallic plates separating said layers, bolts passing through openings in the plates and in the layers, nuts engaging the bolts and holding the plates in place and the layers of fibrous material under compression, and a cap plate closing the outer end of each compartment and held in place by said bolts.

2. A vessel having an outer wall, manysided compartments formed upon the outer wall of the vessel on the inside face thereof, each compartment having its walls formed of metallic plates extending perpendicularly to the Wall of the vessel and bolted thereto. bolt-s extending through each compartment and engaging the outer wall of the vessel, layers of compressed cotton disposed within each compartment, metallic plates having an area equal to the cross sectional area of each compartment and disposed between said layers, nuts on the bolts holding each of said plates in place, and a cap plate closing the ends of the compartments and with which said bolts engage, the Walls with which the cap plate engages being grooved to receive the edges of the cap plate.

3. A. vessel having an outer wall formed to provide the bottom and two sides of the hull of the vessel, many-sided compartments formed upon the inside face of the wall of the hull, each compartment having walls formed of metallic plates extending perpendicularly to the wall of the vessel and bolted thereto, said compartments extending across the bottom of the vessel and the sides of the vessel having compartments extending vertically upward, bolts extending vertically through each compartment and engaging the outer. wall of the vessel, layers of compressed cotton disposed within each compartment. a plurality of metallic plates in each compartment and disposed between said layers and through which plates the bolts pass, nuts on the bolts holding the plates in place, and cap plat/es forming the outer walls of the compartments and with which said bolts engage.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

TALBERT GRANT WEAVER.

lVit-nesses:

W. P. .loHNsoiv, A. D. Nonwooo. 

